Africa’s Journey to the Stars: Why Small Steps Matter More Than Big Leaps

Incremental Progress: Africa’s Path to the Stars

In the landscape of African development, grand strategies and bold, top-down plans often capture the headlines. Pan-African integration, regional harmonisation, and sweeping infrastructure projects promise to catapult the continent forward. But while these ambitions are important, there’s a quieter force at work, one that’s proven to be more reliable and enduring: incremental progress. Across Sub-Saharan Africa, small, patient steps, driven by local needs and adapted to local contexts, are creating real, lasting change. Nowhere is this clearer than in the growing field of space science and technology (SST).

Consider South Africa’s investment into radio astronomy. The MeerKAT telescope in the Karoo desert has already delivered world-leading discoveries and will soon become a key part of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). This was a national vision, pursued incrementally over decades. But its impact has rippled across borders, attracting collaborations with African scientists and inspiring the next generation of astronomers. Crucially, South Africa didn’t wait for MeerKAT to be completed to start preparing people. A decade before construction began, the government launched a dedicated Human Capital Development (HCD) programme, focused on building a sustainable pipeline of skilled individuals at all levels, from artisans to PhD scientists. The HCD programme offered bursaries for undergraduate, honours, master’s, and doctoral studies in fields like physics, astronomy, engineering, and data science, as well as funding for postdoctoral researchers and professional training for technicians. Since its inception, the programme has supported over 1,600 bursaries, transforming young people from across South Africa, and other African countries, into the backbone of the continent’s radio astronomy community. Impressively, more than 85% of HCD-supported students have successfully graduated, a remarkable achievement compared to national averages in STEM fields. The programme has also made significant strides in inclusivity: by 2023, over 40% of bursary recipients were women, helping to address historical gender imbalances in science and engineering. Many graduates now work at facilities like MeerKAT, the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO), and international research institutes, or lead STEM education initiatives in their own communities. The HCD initiative didn’t just create jobs; it changed lives, built a culture of scientific excellence, and ensured that world-class infrastructure like MeerKAT would have the human capacity needed to succeed.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s satellites help track crops, monitor climate, and support disaster management. The conversion in Ghana of a defunct telecommunications dish into a radio astronomy observatory is a masterclass in adaptive reuse. Ethiopia’s Entoto Observatory has become a training hub for young scientists. Botswana successfully launched its earth observation first satellite, in March 2025 this year. Each country is charting its own path, responding to local priorities, but together they’re lifting Africa’s scientific capacity in ways that no single “big plan” ever could. What ties these stories together is the incremental nature of their progress. No single actor is leaping straight to cutting-edge capability. Instead, each country is taking small, deliberate steps: upgrading research facilities, training technical talent, fostering public enthusiasm for science. These efforts are, and should be, driven by local needs, such as improving agricultural yields or managing natural disasters, but they also inspire neighbours to take similar steps. A new exciting initiative pointing to Africa’s future in space exploration is Africa2Moon, a project that will send Africa’s first space exploration mission to the Moon. Conceived as a low-cost, educational, and scientific program, Africa2Moon seeks to inspire young Africans, build technical capacity, and demonstrate that even with incremental investments, African nations can meaningfully contribute to lunar exploration. By prioritising local talent development and pan-African collaboration, Africa2Moon embodies the very spirit of incremental progress and shared ambition that is driving Africa’s journey to the stars.

History shows that incremental progress often outperforms grandiose “leaps” that end up as white elephants; expensive, underused projects that fail to deliver promised benefits. Across Africa, large, centralised power plants have often failed to live up to their massive price tags. In contrast, small-scale, incremental energy solutions like Kenya’s off-grid solar kits, have quietly delivered power to millions. World Cup and Olympic stadiums built in record time in places like South Africa and Brazil have often become expensive burdens once the events ended. Meanwhile, community sports programs and smaller, multi-use facilities, built incrementally, continue to serve local needs and nurture future athletes. In Zambia, the TAZARA railway, an engineering marvel built in the 1970s to connect to Tanzania, has become an underused relic. But small-scale transport solutions, like Uganda’s boda boda motorcycle taxis, have grown organically to meet real demand, not without its challenges but is fuelling local economies and jobs. These examples illustrate a vital lesson: big leaps without incremental groundwork often fail to produce. They consume massive resources but lack local ownership and adaptability. In contrast, incremental efforts, rooted in real demand and allowed to grow and adapt, can deliver more durable and inclusive benefits.

This unintentional convergence in Africa’s SST sector is a powerful example of what some call “convergent competition.” Nations and institutions, each pursuing their own goals, end up setting benchmarks and catalysing systemic progress. South Africa’s leadership in radio astronomy, for example, has pushed others to invest in complementary capabilities, leading to a quiet but profound uplift in African space science as a whole. In my own research, I argue that these incremental investments in SST have profound socio-economic impacts, captured in part by rising labour productivity. This isn’t just about engineers and scientists, it’s about better data for farmers, new tools for entrepreneurs, and a culture of problem-solving that lifts whole communities. Each small success in SST, like a new satellite data platform or an education program, ripples outward, creating jobs, improving skills, and sparking new ideas.

This incremental approach also aligns deeply with African cultural values. The concept of Ubuntu, the belief in shared humanity and collective progress, resonates with how incremental change spreads. When one country achieves a breakthrough, it’s not a solo victory. It becomes part of a larger story that others can join and build upon. For policymakers, entrepreneurs, and investors, the takeaway is clear: think big, but start small. Local, incremental initiatives are the safest bet for long-term impact. Prioritise what’s visible and adaptable. When projects are small and successful, they become models others can learn from. Don’t force uniformity. Diverse approaches, tailored to local contexts, often outperform one-size-fits-all solutions. Make space for learning and sharing. Africa’s greatest strength may be in how it blends ambition with humility, learning from what works, and sharing it widely.

From my own experience working in African space science and technology, I’ve seen how small, steady steps can ignite profound transformation, far beyond what flashy, one-off projects often achieve. Every young scientist inspired, every local STEM program supported, every data application shared across borders brings us closer to a thriving, self-sustaining African space ecosystem. I believe Africa’s journey to the stars must continue to be built on the power of local ambition, cultural wisdom, and patient progress. We don’t need to wait for perfect alignment or billion-dollar leaps; we need thousands of small, determined steps.

As Africa’s space sector grows, it’s proving that incremental progress isn’t a fallback, it’s a powerful engine of transformation. The small steps taken by one country become the building blocks for regional systems of knowledge and opportunity. In a world that rewards speed and grand gestures, Africa’s patient, steady advances in SST are a reminder that sustainable change is built brick by brick. The future belongs not just to the fastest, but to those who keep moving, one step at a time, grounded in local needs and connected by shared hopes. Africa’s journey to the stars has already begun. Let’s keep walking together.